Sting Squad

Outside Qin's temporary research institute in Stettin Town.

Snow Hill.

With a flash of white light, three figures materialized from nothingness.

"We're here. It really is the Plane World scenario of Flesh Plague: Origin."

"Of course. We have Evolution Source Blood as the Anchor, after all."

"This is an Origin Plane. Opportunities to enter an Origin Plane are rare—we need to loot it thoroughly!"

The two people standing behind him were both excited. One was a graceful woman in a white mage robe, who spoke sweetly to the leader:

"Boss Fish Intestine, what do we do? Complete the Main Quest first, or capture that runaway guinea pig first?"

These three were clearly the Sting Squad, the Awakened team ordered to hunt down Bai Pu!

"Don't let your guard down. The other side entered this plane forty-eight hours before us and may have already established a foothold."

The leader of the Awakened, Fish Intestine, was short and thin, with a slightly hoarse voice. "This time, we might not be catching a mouse. Perhaps he's a web-weaving spider who has already laid a trap and is waiting for us! Let's see what the Main Quest is first."

The woman in the white mage robe smiled. "Boss is always so cautious. In the face of absolute strength, what use are his connections with the natives? In forty-eight hours, he'd be doing well just to build a relationship with an elite native..."

"The Main Quest is here!" The first Awakened to speak was a burly man clad in bronze armor. As he carefully read the Main Quest prompt, his expression gradually turned ugly.

"We've been directly assigned to the Blood Ring Fortress faction, which isn't surprising. But why has the Main Quest generated... a mission to rescue the Blood Ring Vanguard Commander?"

The burly Awakened in bronze armor muttered, "That makes no sense. The intelligence said that shortly after the Flesh Plague: Origin Plane opened, Blood Ring Fortress had already conquered Denmark and Tsarist Russia and was planning to cross the Baltic Sea to march on Brandenburg! The Blood Ring Vanguard Commander should be the final boss of this scenario. Why are we being told to rescue him right from the start?"

An absurd feeling welled up in all three of them. It could be summed up with an old saying:

We ministers are ready to fight to the death—why has His Majesty surrendered first?

"Obviously, an Awakened changed the course of the world event!" the short man, Fish Intestine, declared.

"But... but it's only been forty-eight hours. How could he possibly..." The woman in the white mage robe was dumbfounded.

Only Awakened understood how difficult it was to "change the course of a world event"!

The natives capable of deciding the course of a world event were inevitably peerless figures who wielded great power and possessed immense strength. How could someone like that casually alter his strategic decisions because of the advice of an unknown Awakened?

Awakened capable of changing the course of world events usually came from major factions. Their organizations had been deeply rooted in a Plane World for years, with extensive native connections and influence. They could never be rookies without any backing like Bai Pu, an experimental subject!

"What's done is done. Stop wasting time." Fish Intestine said coldly. "The Main Quest says that rescuing Blood Hand Colen is rated A-, which means the guards aren't particularly strong. The powerful native who captured Colen has probably already left."

"Good. We still have hope." The woman in the white mage robe let out a breath.

"Don't celebrate too soon. When the Spirit Realm Will evaluates mission difficulty, it only calculates the natives' strength and behavioral patterns. It won't account for interference by Awakened! If that guy called Bai Pu kills Blood Hand Colen the moment we appear, our Main Quest will fail immediately," Fish Intestine said.

"That can't be, can it? Since the native expert chose to capture Blood Hand Colen alive, it means a living Colen is important. He isn't someone an Awakened can casually kill," the woman in the white mage robe said.

"I think Colen's endurance and Health Points must be extremely high. Even if he can't resist, it won't be easy for a trial participant to kill him," the man in bronze armor added.

"This is our last chance." Fish Intestine agreed with their judgment. "Containing Light, Great Que, this operation is crucial. We'll sneak in. If we don't strike, we don't strike—but when we do, we have to hit the target!"

The woman in the white mage robe, Containing Light, answered. With a wave of her hand, gentle radiance enveloped the three of them. Amid a blur, their figures vanished.

After sneaking forward all the way, the three soon arrived outside Qin's laboratory window. Through the iron bars, they could vaguely see Blood Hand Colen bound in iron chains.

Although one of his arms had been severed and both knees had been ruined, Blood Hand Colen's chest still rose and fell faintly. He was clearly not dead, merely unconscious.

The three sighed in relief.

Containing Light swept the area with her Spirit Energy and quietly said within the team, "Safe. No magical alarms."

"No traps in sight." Fish Intestine scanned the area with hawk-like eyes and reached a conclusion.

Great Que immediately pried open the iron window. The short and nimble captain, Fish Intestine, flipped inside, while Great Que and Containing Light remained outside to provide support.

Fish Intestine snuck to Blood Hand Colen's side and repeatedly swung his dagger! The chains snapped wherever the blade passed, and Blood Hand Colen was freed!

Blood Hand Colen suddenly opened his eyes, his scarlet gaze still incomparably fierce.

It worked! Fish Intestine felt completely at ease. Even if natives arrived now, he was no longer afraid. Colen might be half-crippled, but his former might remained. With the Sting Squad's combat strength added in, who in this remote town could threaten them?

He immediately stepped forward and said, "General Colen! We're here to rescue you!"

"Mm." Colen let out a muffled groan and was just about to speak when his eyes abruptly widened!

Black blood continuously spilled from the corners of Colen's mouth. His body stiffened for a long while before he fell backward, facing the sky. Even in death, his eyes remained wide open, as though filled with endless regret.

At the same time, cries of alarm rang out within the Sting Squad. All three received prompts from the Spirit Realm Will—

Warning: Blood Hand Colen has died. 'Main Quest I: Rescue' has failed!

You and your team will be exiled to Time-Space Turbulence. Countdown: 60 seconds...

At the same time, Fish Intestine felt a test tube filled with blood-red liquid growing scorching hot inside his Storage Space. Another prompt came from the Spirit Realm Will:

The Spirit Realm Oddity you carry, Evolution Source Blood, possesses the guaranteed-drop trait. Upon your death or failure of the Main Quest, it will automatically drop.

"Impossible!" Fish Intestine's eyes widened. He leaped through the window and rushed out of the laboratory, sweeping his gaze across the rooftops, roads, and vehicles throughout Stettin Town, but he found no trace of any suspicious person.

Great Que and Containing Light also rushed over, both panic-stricken!

"Boss Fish Intestine, what do we do?" Containing Light asked in terror.

"Do either of you have a return item?" Fish Intestine asked through gritted teeth.

Containing Light's face turned deathly pale. "I... I don't..."

Great Que took out a sealed scroll. "I do. I exchanged for one last time... But it can only be used by one person, and it needs ten seconds to activate."

"I have an Amnesty Token. It exempts me from the punishment for failing the Main Quest and instantly sends me back to the real world. But it's already bound to me." Fish Intestine's voice was hoarse as he displayed a yellowed sheet of paper. His name had long since been signed on the Amnesty Token.

Containing Light stood there in a daze. A few seconds later, she came back to her senses and abruptly grabbed Great Que's hand. "Brother Shi! What do we do? I... I don't want to die... Sob, sob... Last time, for the sake of the team, I chose the Fading Art instead of taking a return scroll..."

Fish Intestine and Great Que stood motionless.

Containing Light cried, "I want to go home... Brother Shi, I know you're the best person. Please save me..."

Faint Time-Space Turbulence had already begun twisting around the three of them, closing in! The space available for movement was shrinking by the second.

"Xiao Hui, stop crying. Don't be afraid. For you, I can give up anything!"

Though the burly Great Que spoke like a gentle spring rain, he handed the scroll in his hand to Containing Light at the same time.

Containing Light was shocked and delighted. She took the scroll and immediately tore it open! She remained completely still as a layer of gentle white light enveloped her body. She had clearly entered the countdown for returning home.

"Thank you, thank you, Brother Shi! I... I'll always remember you!" With tears in her voice, Containing Light's figure vanished as she returned to the real world.

Fish Intestine silently watched this scene without saying a word. Only after Containing Light had left did he take a deep breath and say to Great Que, "Old Shi, don't worry. I'll definitely avenge you!"

"Take care of Xiao Hui." Great Que's thick, stubby fingers trembled slightly as he grabbed Fish Intestine's arm.

"Don't worry." Fish Intestine broke free from Great Que and raised the Amnesty Token. Light flashed, and he vanished as well! Only a red test tube remained where he had stood.

Both of his companions had left. The countdown ended.

Great Que let out a miserable scream as the Time-Space Turbulence completely engulfed him! His body was sliced into uneven chunks by bizarre temporal and spatial forces, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Where Fish Intestine had vanished, a test tube filled with ruby-red liquid floated silently.

The liquid in the test tube seemed to possess a will of its own. It bubbled constantly, endlessly shifting shape like boiling lava.

An excessively handsome youth walked over, scooped up the test tube, and held it in his hand. His palm was firm and powerful, as though he held the entire world in his grasp.

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